2019 Activist-in-Residence Program

With a shared commitment to advance democracy through research and alliances with civil rights organizations and progressive social movements, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin partner annually to offer the UCLA Activist-in-Residence Program.

Our organizations recognize that the work of social change is demanding. It is our objective to help sustain the activists, artists, and public intellectuals involved in this work through the UCLA Activist-in-Residence program. We believe this collaboration will help strengthen the infrastructure of social transformation by providing leaders/activists with the time and space to recharge and to reflect upon a complex challenge facing their communities, while also allowing UCLA students to develop or strengthen their own commitment to social justice.

The goals of this program are to:

• Provide activists, artists, and public intellectuals the opportunity to explore or study a complex issue and perhaps to imagine new approaches or scholarship that will improve the lives of people in their community.
• Increase the participation of progressive thought leaders 1) at every level of government 2) in nonprofit organizations and 3) in groups that influence public policy and grassroots organizing.
• Encourage collaborative teaching and learning communities that create new models of public scholarship and engagement for students. For example, developing narratives that intersect the personal with political empowerment and link students’ lives to broader social processes, thereby “turning the university inside out.”

The 2019 residency will take place during the winter quarter from January 7 – March 31, but Residents may extend their appointment through the spring quarter which ends June 30. Each Resident Activist will receive a part-time UCLA appointment, a $7,500 stipend, and may receive up to $2,500 in research support through expense reimbursement (e.g., to host workshops with UCLA students and community residents, to hire a UCLA research assistant, etc.). In addition, the Residents will receive office space at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, paid parking and campus access to UCLA Library research facilities. This residency does not include benefits.

Two fellows for the 2019 Activist-in-Residence program will be selected: one for the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and one for the Institute on Inequality and Democracy. Interested individuals may apply for only one of the following fellowships:

• The UCLA Asian American Studies Center: This fellowship is made possible through the Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee Endowment in Social Justice and Immigration Studies. The fellow will focus on addressing social inequality in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities by participating in a variety of events, such as presentations, class visits, workshops, panels, activist projects, video projects, and Center meetings.

• The Institute on Inequality and Democracy: This fellowship is funded by the James Irvine Foundation established to bring scholar-activists to the Institute who will undertake social movement research and pedagogy directly concerned with equity at the urban scale—preferably in one or more of the following themes: Housing Justice in Unequal Cities; Debt and Predatory Financialization; Policing and Incarceration; and Decolonizing the University.

The fellowship funded by the James Irvine Foundation is required to have student engagement through workshops, class visits, public events, and/or community meetings or field research. Institute staff will be available to assist.

The UCLA Activist-in-Residence program is designed for people who are at least mid-career and who have demonstrated leadership in nonprofit and community-serving organizations.

Interested applicants must:

• Be 18 years or older.
• Live and work in the Los Angeles region.
• Be available part-time during the residency period (January 7 – June 30, 2019).
• Currently work full-time or have recently held a senior leadership position at a community organization or government agency that works with underserved low-income, immigrant, and/or communities of color.
• Be committed to working for social justice.
• Be committed to building a cross-disciplinary network of leaders and scholars.
• Present a clearly articulated statement about what the Resident hopes to gain from the fellowship and what issues s/he plans to explore. For example, how resources would be used for reflection and renewal, in addition to working on and addressing a complex challenge in her/his field.
• Be able to converse in English and/or provide a translator for all group meetings.
• Not be a current university student or employee.
• Submit all requested information by the application deadline: Friday, November 2, 2018, 5 p.m.

Note: The Google Form application is available after clicking the “Apply for the 2019 Activist-in-Residence Program” button above.

Please direct questions regarding eligibility or application procedure to Melany De La Cruz (melanyd@ucla.edu) at the Asian American Studies Center, or Cristina Barrera (cbarrera@luskin.ucla.edu) at the Institute on Inequality and Democracy.